


Run Fast For Your Mother

by Loveandcoffeeandothersimplicities



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Betty Cooper Needs a Hug, F/M, Hurt Betty Cooper, Jughead Jones Loves Betty Cooper, Protective Jughead Jones
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-12
Updated: 2020-12-12
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:06:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28035126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Loveandcoffeeandothersimplicities/pseuds/Loveandcoffeeandothersimplicities
Summary: Bughead One-shot. Title from Florence and the Machine. Summary inside.
Relationships: Betty Cooper/Jughead Jones
Comments: 6
Kudos: 42





	Run Fast For Your Mother

Author's note: Going to be doing a few one-shots for Bughead based around seasons 1-3. They'll be uploaded periodically and this first one is a revamp of the SOQM rescue scene I wrote for the Riverdale shots. (We were also denied that scene by the fucking awful writers and I will die angry on that hill). Enjoy! Feedback welcomed as always! Xxx

Betty's P.O.V.

Betty watched as the room spun around her at a dizzying pace, her attention span drifting in and out of focus right before her eyes. She had fought so fucking hard to resist the damn "candy" those crazed bitches wanted her to take for as long as she could before they ultimately ended up restraining her and force-feeding them to her. Now she was forced to take them like clockwork and God, she didn't know what was real anymore. Sister Woodhouse was the nun she absolutely loathed the most. The old, bitter woman and Ethel seemed to get their kicks from personally tormenting her. Betty would scoff at their treatment if she had the energy to fight back anymore.

She tried to reconcile why her mother had done this to her, truly, she did. She had thought every which way about reasons that could have made the formidable Alice Cooper send her daughter to this hell on earth while she herself went and danced with the fucking hippies at some awful cult. But every time some idea started to make a modicum of sense to her, she was fed more pills and she lost the will to believe her half-hearted attempts at convincing herself Alice hadn't gone and done the one thing she swore she never would: crack.

Just then, there was a loud bang and Betty immediately shrieked, diving to the corner of what she had not so inaccurately deemed a prison cell/bedroom. Looking up, she spotted Sister Woodhouse and two menacing looking orderlies grinning down at her cowering form. Betty shook her head.

"N-no," she said softly. "Please, leave me alone."

"Hush now, my child," Woodhouse sneered, making Betty flinch visibly. "It's time for your afternoon snack." The nun nodded at the two orderlies who made their way to Betty, yanking her up by her skeleton-like arms, and dragging her to the wall, holding her in place as one forced her mouth open so the nun could shove the pills down her throat. Coughing, Betty closed her eyes as one of the men's hands' came over her mouth, forcing her to swallow the pills.

"That's a good girl," Woodhouse hummed, nodding approvingly, before signaling to her men to let Betty go. The instant they released her, she slid to the ground, wrapping her arms around her knees, knowing the hallucinations were on their way. "Rest now, dear." Her tone was one of pure wickedness, but Betty was already slipping down the rabbit hole to acknowledge her with any type of retort.

XXX

Jughead's P.O.V.

Haven't heard from Betty in a while, boss. Should I check her house? -Sweet Pea.

After replying that yes, he needed his righthand to do that, Jughead looked at Archie. He was seriously starting to question whether or not offering to get his longtime friend out of Riverdale was a good idea. He loved the guy, truly, but the idiot always seemed to be a penchant for danger. It followed him everywhere and, well, honestly, Jughead was fucking sick of having to help clean up his messes. This one in particular. Sure, Arch, let's flirt with the creepy barn girl who lives in the mild of fucking nowhere and then let me find out Hiram was planning on kidnapping you while I wasn't there to help. Thanks, pal. Scoffing internally, Jughead just shook his head and kept glancing at his phone periodically. Eventually, Pea texted him.

S.O.S Betty. -Pea.

It was enough to convince Jughead and Archie both to turn around and hightail it to the nearest train station and back to the town that had only grown darker as the years progressed.

XXX

"What the fuck do you mean Alice put her there?" Jughead shouted in his friend's face. To his credit, Pea didn't stand down; he was equally as pissed and Jughead respected his love for his girlfriend.

"Alice," Pea sneered. "Got her placed in that hell hole about two weeks ago from what I know. Before you say anything, Fangs, T, Cheryl and me had been searching for her during those two weeks, as was Veronica. None of us just thought about her being there."

Jughead clenched and unclenched his fist; reminded himself to take some breaths as it wasn't any of his friends or members faults that they didn't expect Alice to finally fly off her fucking rocker and admit her daughter into that asylum. Because that's exactly what it was. No amount of, "helping the mentally unwell" could convince him otherwise. For fucks sake, he had been there with Betty, two years prior. Had seen the lifeless looks in the "patients" eyes. He knew for a fact those poor people had been tormented; had heard it from his dad's conversation with Moose's father. Cheryl, not someone he willingly wanted to be open with, had confided in him one night about her own struggles in that place and he felt for the redhead. Something he thought he'd never be capable of.

Pushing those thoughts out of his head, he worked with his friends to come up with a plan to get his girl out of there as quickly as they could. They'd be ready by nightfall.

XXX

Listening to Fangs and Archie break the lock on the gate, Jughead addressed Cheryl, Toni, and Pea. "Pea, I'm going to need you to have my back when we run. Same for you and Cheryl, T."

They all nodded, knowing better than to question why he didn't say, "when Betty and I run". They knew it was a pretty much guarantee she wouldn't be in running condition.

"Got it!" Came Fangs’ whisper and the group crept onto the grounds and into the home for troubled youth after a quick glance to make sure the coast was clear. Veronica quickly but quietly went to go search for Betty's room number while Archie stood behind her, peering down the dark hallways. Jughead and Pea made sure they had their knives in their hands, only willing to tuck them into their waistbands when they were in sight of Betty.

"Room 203," Veronica murmured next to Jughead and he nodded. They hurried to the second floor, keeping their footsteps as quiet as possible. Reaching the door, Jughead tried the handle, knowing it was fruitless regardless. Sure enough, locked. No problem, he had picked up a thing or two from his beloved Nancy Drew. Accepting the bobby pin Toni handed him, he worked it into the lock, jingling it for a few beats before the door swung open. His eyes fell on a trembling form huddled in what could only be called a shitty excuse of a bed. Her hair was knotted, what used to be golden tresses now dulled. Jughead bit his lip, making his way to her quietly as he heard Pea and Fangs stand guard at the door.

"Betts?" Jughead asked softly, laying a gentle hand to her shoulder. She flinched instantly upon his contact and he didn't blame her. He also didn't remove his hand, instead rubbing soft strokes into her skin with his thumb. "It's okay, baby. It's just us."

"I'm sorry," she whispered, still facing the wall. "I promise to be a good girl, Sister Woodhouse, I promise." He heard soft footsteps behind him and looked up to spot Sweet Pea looking down at who the taller considered not only a best friend but a sister. The family he had always been searching for.

"Hey honey," he crouched down. "It's just Jughead and the gang." His tone was low and soothing, a stark contrast to his entire persona. But that's just who Betty Cooper could convince him to be. Betty was still entirely too tense for Jughead's comfort, but he did notice that she had seemed to stop shaking quite as much so nodded at Pea. He kept talking. "We're going to get you out of here."

Betty finally rolled over and Jughead sucked in a sharp breath. "Oh baby…"

Her entire left side of her face was swollen, and her eyes were out of focus. Upon closer look, Jughead recognized something.

"She's been fucking drugged," he gritted out between clenched teeth, causing Cheryl, whom he hadn't noticed at this point, to hiss under her breath.

"I'll fucking kill them all," she growled.

"Uh, company, four o'clock," came Archie's worried voice and Jughead acted quickly. Picking up Betty swiftly but with gentle hands, he tucked her into his chest, murmuring sweet nothings into her ear as the group backed out of her room. Just then, almost as in a planned, synchronized movement, orderlies darted towards them, alarms started blaring, and a nurse that Jughead vaguely recalled seeing when he went with Betty to find Polly, led the way as if on a witch hunt.

"No," Betty gasped, eyes as wide as saucers, before pressing her face into Jughead's chest and covering her ears to block out the sounds of the alarms screaming. "Run Juggie, run."

Not needing to be told twice, Jughead and the group dashed through the corridors madly, the Serpents throwing punches when needed. Veronica, in a very surprising movement, turned around and decked one of the orderlies who reached out to try and yank Betty away clear across his face. She grinned a self-satisfied smile as they heard the sound of his nose breaking, before shrugging at the looks of incredulity on Sweet Pea and Fangs' faces.

"What? My dad may be a mobster dick but he's one who made sure I can throw a punch if needed," she said simply. They continued running, gaining speed as Sister Woodhouse who, despite her terrifying mannerisms, was still old. A bonus. Her age didn't do her any favors when it came to keeping up with a bunch of pissed off Serpents and two friends of a blonde who had become victim once again to a cruel woman who claimed "love" through a title she didn't deserve. Alice Cooper was not Betty's mother. And, after this last stint, Jughead wouldn't rest until she was well aware of it.

XXX

Getting Betty to a safe place was easy enough. Opening the door of their trailer, FP Jones stared down at the blonde in his son's arms, shaking his head sadly.

"Alice," he muttered, rubbing a hand over his face. "Will pay."

It was a low promise, accompanied by a quick and soft kiss to her forehead and Jughead nodded, passing by his dad, and going into his room. If his dad had any objections about Betty sleeping in his bed, he was wise enough to not actually voice them. Sitting her down on his bed gently, Jughead caressed her cheekbone with the pad of his thumb.

"Baby," he said softly, watching as she blinked her eyes open. She had fallen asleep as soon as her head hit Jughead's lap in Archie's truck.

"Yeah?" Betty asked, voice hoarse.

"We do not need to talk about anything right now, I promise," he said, eyes trailing her thin form and newly acquired bruises and scars. "But, at some point, I need to know what happened okay? It'll help me know how to help you through this."

He watched as Betty's lower lip trembled for a moment before something beautiful happened. She swallowed, took a steadying breath, and cupped Jughead's cheek with her palm.

"Whatever happens, I love you," she murmured, eyes bright. "I'll always love you. And, that knowledge, you, and our friends will be all I need to help me through this. To help you help me through this."

It was a soft promise but there was such a strong sense of assuredness behind her words that he knew his girl would be alright. She always was. He ducked his head to give her a gentle kiss before standing back.

"Shower or sleep?" Jughead asked.

"Actually, I would kill for Pops," she sighed, shaking her head. "It’ been too long."

Jughead swallowed down his anger at what she wasn't saying: too long since she had eaten anything. He nodded instead, shot off a quick text and soon enough, their friends were walking through his small trailer, arms loaded down with food bags. Passing her a chocolate milkshake, burger, and an order of onion rings, Jughead placed a kiss to Betty's temple as she leaned into his side, taking a bite of her burger, and laughing softly at something Fangs said. Knowing that both hard and good times were laying ahead, Jughead just took the moment to savor what he realized in his bedroom once more. Betty was here. And fuck, if she wasn't a warrior, he didn't know who was.

Fin.


End file.
